Tag: Keaontay Ingram

Jordan Whittington named ESPN’s 2020 breakout player for Texas

ESPN recently named their breakout players for the top college football programs in 2020.

Wide receiver and running back Jordan Whittington was expected to be one of the most exciting players to watch for the Longhorns in 2019. Unfortunately, he was sidelined the majority of his freshman season due to a sports hernia surgery.

There was nothing Whittington couldn’t do throughout his high school playing career at Cuero. His record-setting performance in the 2018 State Championship quickly caught the attention of many.

Whittington compiled 334 rush yards, 43 receiving yards, and six touchdowns. Also recording 11 tackles on defense, Whittington was named the offensive and defensive most valuable player as Cuero defeated Texarkana Pleasant Grove for their first state championship in over 30 years.

Expecting to play wide receiver at Texas, Whittington’s versatility, knowledge, and athletic ability eventually became an option at running back due to the teams lack of depth.

Whittington took full advantage of the position change, soaring up to the No. 2 running back behind Keontay Ingram before suffering an injury. With wide receivers Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay departing to the NFL while five-star running back Bijan Robinson arrives on campus, Whittington may be tasked to play both positions in 2020.

ESPN recently released their college breakout player to watch for in 2020 for each of the top programs. Considering Whittington rarely stepped onto the field in 2019, this accolade speaks volumes of his expectations and abilities.

He’s the prototypical Swiss Army knife type of player that this Texas staff must find a way to use frequently.

Bidding war for Longhorns RB coach Stan Drayton: Cowboys out, return to Texas likely

In what appeared to be a three-way race for Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton’s services, a return to the Longhorns is now likely.

It was reportedly a three-way race to land Texas Longhorns associate head coach and run game coordinator Stan Drayton. Fortunately for the Longhorns, it doesn’t appear Drayton will be accepting a similar position within the National Football League.

Head coach Tom Herman has made it a priority to bring back Drayton for the 2020 season, especially with five-star running back Bijan Robinson arriving to campus. This appeared to be the most likely scenario until the Dallas Cowboys became involved.

Cowboys new head coach Mike McCarthy highly coveted Drayton, scheduling an interview last week in an attempt to reunite Drayton with former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys are no longer a possibility to sway Drayton away from Texas.

According to ESPN reporter Lindsey Thiry, the Cowboys have decided to hire former Los Angeles Rams running backs coach Skip Peete.

Oddly enough, the Rams were reportedly the third team interested in Drayton’s services. Although it could remain a possibility, Thiry denied the team’s interest in the Texas coach. The Cowboys vacant coaching position appeared the most enticing option if Drayton were to return to the NFL.

With Peete accepting the same position in Dallas, NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport now believes Drayton will stay at Texas.

Drayton’s decision speaks volumes of the expectations he has for the Longhorns this year, there’s no shortage of highly-rated athletes in the backfield.

2020 Texas Longhorns: Keaontay Ingram Profile

The Texas Longhorns head into 2020 with a running back question, can Keaontay Ingram be the answer?

The Texas Longhorns run game in 2020 could be help carry the team. The backfield seems to be crowded going into the spring. Top rated recruit Bijan Robinson is set to join the team in the fall. The Longhorns needed to convert quarterback Roschon Johnson to running back but with a crowded group, could he go back to quarterback? Right now the leader of the group is Keaontay Ingram.

During his high school career at Carthage, Ingram was a one-man show on the ground. He rushed for over 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns or more in his final two years. His ability is one that you can lean on. Running the ball has never been an issue for Ingram, This year he improved to 5.9 yards per carry on the same amount of carries.

While Ingram has shown that he can be very productive, he hasn’t been the feature back during his first two seasons as a Longhorn. Going into his junior year, Ingram should get the opportunity to be more a feature back in the offense even given who Texas has coming in behind him.

As a receiver, Ingram gives you the flexibility to move him around. While the numbers are minimal, Ingram can be a factor as a receiver. Lining up Ingram out wide can be a way that new play caller Mike Yurcich can use him to create matchups with linebackers. After seeing how Ingram found success in the Alamo Bowl game against Utah, that just might be the way they use him to attack defenses in 2020.

2020 Texas Longhorns Outlook: The Running Back Conundrum

The Texas Longhorns have a loaded backfield heading into the spring, what does the team do with all these weapons?

One big question that will need to be addressed as the Texas Longhorns head into spring practice this year surrounds sophomore Jordan Whittington. The Longhorns will have a crowded backfield with Keaontay Ingram, Whittington, Roschon Johnson and incoming freshman Bijan Robinson.

Robinson is one of the quartet that won’t be in spring practice since he isn’t enrolling early at Texas. One possible scenario could involve Johnson moving back to quarterback with Whittington coming off of injury and Robinson joining in the fall.

The other possible scenario could be moving Whittington over to wide receiver. The Longhorns are losing two receiver who rank in the top ten in terms of yards in Texas history in Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay. The five-star recruit is a possible option. In high school, Whittington ran for over 1,400 yards and added another 3,202 through the air.

His athleticism makes him a good fit as he can create space for the quarterback to get him the ball and his elusiveness creates big plays when the ball is in his hands. He was also used as a punt returner and kick returner that scored 69 total touchdowns in three season. He is so dynamic as a playmaker that he can really contribute from a multitude of areas on the field.

The situation the Longhorns find themselves in is a pleasant one, what do they do with a loaded backfield and the spring should give some insight as to how they will deploy these weapons.

Texas Longhorns: Five Areas To Improve In 2020

The Texas Longhorns finished the year 8-5 but here are five areas to get even better in 2020.

Even with the Texas Longhorns victory over the Utah Utes to cap off a 8-5 campaign, there are plenty of areas where the team can improve upon in 2020. The Longhorns will be looking to get to double digit wins for only the second time since 2009 that ended a run of nine consecutive 10-win seasons under Mack Brown.

Defense Needs To Create Turnovers

For any offense, creating turnovers is their best friend. It gives the offense some advantages in that they deal with short fields and the Longhorns could do well to put pressure on the opposing offense that really can play right into the hands of the defense.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The Longhorns created 22 turnover opportunities under Todd Orlando and with the recent hire of Chris Ash, Texas needs to continue to create more opportunities for Sam Ehlinger and the offense. D’Shawn Jamison led the team with three picks in 2019.

Chris Ash will be looking to bring some of that 2014 Ohio State magic to the Longhorns defense. That season, the Buckeyes tallied 25 interceptions. Ash has a big opportunity to create a defense that Texas has been missing for the last several years.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Keaontay Ingram and The Longhorns Jump Over Utah

The Texas Longhorns finish their season on a positive note by beating 11th ranked Utah in the Alamo Bowl.

The Texas Longhorns came into the Valero Alamo Bowl game seeking their third straight bowl season  win under Tom Herman in as many chances. Coming into the game the Longhorns were a touchdown underdog in this game against the 11th ranked Utah Utes.

The Longhorns got off to a quick start after an opening drive that ended in a Michael Dicker field goal, they finished the first half leading 10-0. The defense was able to bottle up this offense led by linebacker Joseph Ossai. He was able to keep Zack Moss in check who finished the game with a 3.6 yards per carry average. Tyler Huntley was also known as a quarterback who could beat you with his legs, was held to just 33 yards on 16 carries.

It was a complete game for Texas getting contributions in all three phases of the game. In the second half it was a lot of Devin Duvernay and running back Keaontay Ingram. Ingram would finish the game with 108 yards rushing and added a touchdown on the ground as well as one in the air. The offense was able to break the will of the Utes in the second half to go along with their suffocating defense.

The Longhorns finished the year on a positive note and sent their seniors off with a win in their final game for Texas. Collin Johnson, Duvernay, Brandon Jones and Malcolm Roach will be playing in bowl games to impress the NFL scouts in the near future. This win also gives Tom Herman and the staff some momentum heading into the offseason as they finish up the recruiting class and get ready for spring football.

Alamo Bowl: 3rd Quarter Recap

The third quarter recap from the Alamo Bowl involving the Texas Longhorns and the 11th ranked Utah Utes.

The Utah Utes started the second half running the ball and driving against the Texas defense. As they neared midfield the Texas defense were able to tighten up and forced a 4th and one. When quarterback Tyler Huntley kept the ball on a zone read, Joseph Ossai stops him in the backfield for a turnover on downs.

Once Texas got the offense back on the field, they got running back Keaontay Ingram involved in the offense. He received two Sam Ehlinger passes for big plays including a 11-yard completion to give Texas the 17-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Following the scoring drive, the Utes were able to get into the Longhorns’ territory following a facemask penalty from Ossai. Zack Moss, the Pac 12 co-offensive player of the year was able to get a big run on 3rd and two to extend their drive getting their deepest penetration into Texas territory on the night. Two big stops from defensive back Caden Sterns forces a Utah field goal to cut the lead to 14 points.

On the second drive of the third quarter, Texas found themselves behind the chains after a holding call on first down against Brennan Eagles. They were able to get a first down on a read option that quarterback Sam Ehlinger took for a big gain into Utah territory. A unnecessary roughness call put the Longhorns inside the red zone as the drive continued. Ehlinger did the rest on a six-yard run that appeared to be a broken play resulting in another Texas touchdown.

Third Quarter Stats

Sam Ehlinger 10/15 149 yards, 10 carries 68 yards Three TDs

Keaontay Ingram 10 carries 49 yards, two receptions 26 yards TD

 

 

 

WATCH: Texas extends lead with Jake Smith touchdown reception

Watch as Texas Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger finds WR Jake Smith for six against Texas Tech

The Texas Longhorns opened up today’s game against Texas Tech down 14 in the first quarter. Since then, the Longhorns have outscored the Red Raiders 35-7.

Texas’ most recent score came midway through the 3rd quarter as Sam Ehlinger found wide receiver Jake Smith deep for a touchdown. Ehlinger on the day is now 14/19 for 294 yards and two touchdowns. He also has 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Watch the Jake Smith touchdown to put Texas up 35-21 here:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

WATCH: Texas Tech retakes the lead with amazing touchdown catch

Watch as Texas Tech retakes the lead, 21-14, with a spectacular touchdown catch against Texas

After scoring two straight touchdowns to tie the game and getting a stop on 4th & goal, the Texas Longhorns find themselves trailing the Texas Tech Red Raiders once again.

Nearly halfway through the second quarter, Texas Tech quarterback Jeff Duffey found wide receiver Erik Ezukanma once again for a touchdown. This TD marks the second of the game for Duffey. But Carter brought this touchdown in with some fashion. The Texas DB definitely got “Mossed.”

The score currently sits at 21-14 in favor of Texas Tech.

Watch the Texas Tech touchdown here:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

WATCH: Texas Tech increases lead to 14 with a rushing TD

Watch as Texas Tech increases their lead over Texas to 14 with a 10-yard rushing touchdown

Texas Tech has started this game on fire.

After stopping the Longhorns on a 4th down attempt, the Red Raiders went right down the field once again to get their second touchdown of the game. This time, they scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown by running back SaRodorick Thompson.

This Texas team needs to get it together if they want to avoid an upset loss against this 4-7 Texas Tech squad.

You can watch the second touchdown of the game for Texas Tech below:

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]